Posts
66
Joined
7/22/2014
Location
Marietta, GA
US
Edited Date/Time
9/5/2018 11:27am
Thinking of getting my first elect guitar. I have a Taylor acoustic for fun, but have the itch to learn some Floyd and Knopfler. Im a hack,(somewhere around decent beginner or shitty intermediate) so playing only for personal enjoyment. The only thing I can't stand is a guitar that goes out of tune every 5 minutes. My taylor was well worth the price to avoid those headaches. How far into the Fender line do I need to go to get that kind of dependability? Id have a hard time justifying the cost of an American made Strat at my skill level.
The Shop
I’ve got a 1990 Strat and it suits me like a glove. I’ve also got a 2000 Strat that I keep at my parents house but it rarely gets played, the mojo isn’t as strong with that one but it’s still a good guitar. I worked in a nice guitar shop and have played several high-end US Strats that were hit or miss with me but my 1990 is my favorite.
Any strat is a relatively cheaply made guitar. Everything Leo did in the design was geared around cost. The neck can be made from a 1 x 3 because it's not a tilt back and it's bolted on. The body is usually made from Alder with little or no attention to grain appearance because they are heavily tinted or painted. Besides, most of the the front is thin plastic anyway because it makes it easy to rout wiring. The pickups are simple and cheap to make.
All that being said, I love the sound. I have a mim and used it on most of my Floyd covers which many on here have heard. It's a sound that is all it's own. I build guitars and the difference between building a strat and a les paul is huge, but I love the way my mim strat sounds. If you want to pay $2500.00 for a strat, buy it from me, otherwise a Squire or mim will be just fine. You will love it.
The one on the left is one that I built. Carve top, tilt back neck, minimal plastic, recessed control covers, blah blah. The one next to it is a mim. I defy anybody to tell me which one I'm using on a given song.
As far as the tremolo systems, I wouldn’t worry much about it. Almost everyone I know that plays a Strat has the trem either blocked, or added springs to keep it from moving. (The nut also plays a big part in staying in tune if you use the tremolo)
I talked with my fender/gretsch rep, and he informed me that the Mexican strats of that time period were all assembled with pickups that were disassembled from old stock left over 70's strat pickups found in an old fender warehouse. If you can get your hands on a used mexican fender strat from this era, you have your hands on a gold mine that not to many people know about. Just saying. Its worth looking into.
Here's a few more songs that are forbidden. Play them all:
-Message in a bottle
-Day Tripper
-Tom Sawyer (honorable mention goes to YYZ)
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